My Friend and fellow Blogger John Ray of Palawan Anecdotes sent me this article. He has written a few this past week about his beloved past President Corazon Aquino. I hope you will enjoy his words and sentiments about his country which he loves and cares about. These are John Rays words and he asked me to post here for him. Being a guest in his country, I will not comment if I agree or disagree whith his feelings since it is not my place to do so.

Ever since Corazon Aquino was diagnosed of stage four colon cancer, a sense of nationalistic fervor slowly began to rally inside the hearts of many Filipinos. Upon her death, this fervor has once again sparked the essence and value of the freedom we enjoy right now.

It has been a few days already since the burial of Corazo Aquino. Yet I am still left in awe of the display of support which took place last August 5, 2009. What moved me is the fact that Corazon Aquino’s legacy has created a lasting impact in the life of so many people from all walks of life. Even those who conspired against her through coupes eventually admitted that they were wrong. Foreign journalists mentioned that she was the only president, after Ferdinand Marcos, who was not accused of corruption. Her dedication to keep the office of the president honorable despite all the oppositions is still unparalleled until today.

Integrity, it Counts.

Though Corazon Aquino faced so much opposition during her time as president, she was still able to maintain her integrity. The same integrity allowed her to willingly give up her office when her term ended. That same integrity gave her the confidence to challenge politicians in office when she saw them abuse their power.

While many are quick to point out Corazon Aquino’s legacy was her being the icon of democracy, it must be noted that without integrity such title would be very shallow. Integrity is the reason why so many people flooded the streets and endured the harsh conditions just to catch a glimpse of the funeral cortege and flash the ‘laban’ (fight) sign as a sign of support for the family.

While today’s generation does not place any importance in integrity, in the long run it will count, no matter who you are.

I once read about Karl Marx’s funeral and it was totally opposite of that of Corazon Aquino, considering that Karl Marx was the founder of communisim. Since the guy had no integrity, only 6 people attended his funeral. Nobody cared, not even his family—he starved most of his children to death..

While waiting for the funeral cortege to pass by reporter asked few persons if they would show the same dedication for the current president. The supporter just laughed and said that it would never happen.

Integrity counts and if we want to leave a lasting impression to the younger generations, we must value it no matter what.

So What Now?

So now what? After all the spent emotions and show of sympathy, now what? Well for one and even before using that funeral to spark another useless revolution, let us first check ourselves and try to analyze if there is integrity left within us. Let us first stop pointing at each other for in the longer run we become nothing but a bunch of worthless hypocrites.

Secondly, let us try to clean up our own act. While it feels good to discuss and condemn the corrupt, we ourselves manifest the same sort of corruption in our daily life. The only difference is politicians have become more intoxicated with power.

Finally, let us put into action the courage that we have in the fight against corruption. Yes, it is easier said than done but inaction will only make our nation rot.

Your photo is nice, but you look too young to be married.
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